The Chicago White Sox have announced their player development staff and assignments under director of player development Paul Janish. This is the former major league infielder’s third season at the helm. There are some promotions and title changes as the franchise continues to retool the development side. Senior advisor to pitching Brian Bannister came in with Janish and has implemented processes to the organization on a similar timeline. Director of hitting Ryan Fuller is in his second season on the job and seems to have gained even more autonomy on his side of the operation.
The Chicago White Sox have announced their player development staff and assignments for the 2026 season under Paul Janish, director of player development: pic.twitter.com/56ztrSr0CL
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) January 22, 2026
Many of these names are familiar from 2025 with Rod Larson earning a promotion and a new title as the director of pitching strategy. The White Sox also moved on from longtime employee Erin Santana as the manager, international player development and education. The club has hired Haley Poole from the Texas Rangers in a similar role that will titled education coordinator.
Janish said the following about Poole, “Her aspiration to take on a new challenge, number one. Her background in education and some of the things that she’s dealt with from an organizational standpoint, leading people standpoint really stuck out. Her prior references with Texas were really, really good. Just being able to influence that in a positive way.”
Phil Nevin returns as a special assistant to player development. He seems to wear many hats for the White Sox’s organization on the development side while assisting amateur scouting as well. Chuck Garfien of the Chicago Sports Network recently chatted with Nevin on the White Sox Podcast.
White Sox Rovers/Instructors
Field/Infield Coordinator: Ryan Newman
Pitching Coordinator: Matt Zaleski
Assistant Pitching Coordinator: Curt Hasler
Lower-Level Pitching Coordinator: Hiram Burgos
Pitching Consultant: Zach McAllister
Hitting Coordinator: Sherman Johnson
Assistant Hitting Coordinator: Danny Santin
Catching Coordinator: Ross Steedley
Rehab Pitching Coach: Garvin Alston
Sports Science Coordinator: Joe D’Amato
Player Development Biomechanist: Motoki Sakurai
Player Development Analyst: Ethan Bain
Player Development Analyst: Zubin Srivastava
Nutritionist: Sarah Walsh
Mental Performance: Cristian Guzman
Ryan Newman, Matt Zaleski, Curt Hasler and Danny Santin all return in their previous roles on the player development side. Hiram Burgos will enter the season as the Lower-level pitching coordinator which differentiates his responsibilities from those of Zaleski. Sherman Johnson takes over as the hitting coordinator after serving in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles last year.
Ross Steedley and Garvin Alston have also joined the fray as the catching coordinator and rehab pitching coordinator respectively. The White Sox have hired Motoki Sakurai as their new biomechanist as well after losing their previous one to a job at Nike. Zach McAllister also joins the organization in his first coaching role post playing career as a pitching consultant. McAllister has a previous relationship with Brian Bannister.
“Zach is just a super-impressive guy. He dealt with some injuries toward the end of his career which it was really evident that that side of the game and the psychological side of the game are something that is important to him,” Janish said in a Zoom call with reporters last week. “We’re going to deploy him in a variety of roles on the pitching side. But just really exposing him to our group and kind of seeing where that goes is something we’re excited about.”
Triple-A Charlotte Knights
Manager: Chad Pinder
Pitching Coach: Scott Aldred
Hitting Coach: Cam Seitzer
Bench Coach: Pat Listach
Catching/Development Coach: Ángel Rosario
Trainer: Carson Wooten
Performance Coach: George Timke
It was a surprise when the White Sox decided to move on from Charlotte manager Sergio Santos but the organization is seemingly excited about the future of new Knights’ manager Chad Pinder, whose served as the manager in Kannapolis last season. Pinder told the Chicago media that his young family lives in Charlotte and called it a natural transition.
“From the baseball side, I firmly believe in development, it doesn’t stop. It doesn’t. It does not stop. It doesn’t stop when you get into the big leagues. Marcus Semien, you guys had him. You guys probably followed him. What that guy did and how good he got while playing in the big leagues, is a testament to development does not stop past Triple-A”, said Pinder. “So it’s proof. We’re here in Charlotte, we can continue to develop, and we can continue to get better and prepare ourselves for the next level.”
Pinder has a big job as some top prospects will filter through the Queen City this year. He could be making call up videos in short order in regards to Tanner McDougal, Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith, Sam Antonacci and Braden Montgomery. Aldred will return as pitching coach while Seitzer will handle the hitting once again. Veteran bench coach Pat Listach also returns in his role.
Double-A Birmingham Barons
Manager: Pat Leyland
Pitching Coach: John Kovalik
Hitting Coach: Aaron Bray
Bench Coach: Daniel Millwee
Trainer: AJ Smith
Performance Coach: Juan Maldonado
Pat Leyland moves up another level after managing in Winston-Salem and Kannapolis the past two seasons and the organization seems to be excited about the transition.
“There’s nothing else he wants to do more than being on a baseball field. I blame his dad.”
– Paul Janish on Pat Leyland moving up another level to become the Double-A Manager
Further emphasized the importance of his synergy with many young players in the organization.
— Elijah Evans (@ElijahEv8) January 22, 2026
Aaron Bray will serve as the hitting coach for the Barons after spending the past two years in Double-A Binghamton with the New York Mets organization and he’s worked in the San Diego Padres system as well. John Kovalik returns as the pitching coach once again and he’ll be tasked with stewarding some premium arms once again.
High-A Winston-Salem Dash
Manager: Guillermo Quiroz
Pitching Coach: Jacob Dorris
Hitting Coach: Adam Sinkoe
Bench Coach: Tyler Coolbaugh
Trainer: Austin Smith
Performance Coach: Logan Jones
Guillermo Quiroz will return to Winston-Salem after guiding the Birmingham Barons to the Southern League title once again last year. Quiroz was with the Dash in 2023 and 2024. Jacob Dorris was new to the organization last year and he gets the two level promotion from Kannapolis. Tyler Coolbaugh was coaching in the Arizona Complex League and he’ll take over as the bench coach while he excels at hitting instruction.
HE’S BACK‼️
We are excited to have Manager, Guillermo Quiroz, Performance Coach, Logan Jones and Athletic Trainer, Austin Smith back in Dash City for the 2026 season. The Dash also welcome Pitching Coach, Jacob Dorris, Hitting Coach, Adam Sinkoe and Bench Coach, Tyler Coolbaugh… pic.twitter.com/3VYMoRWD3z
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) January 22, 2026
Adam Sinkoe comes to the White Sox’s organization after serving as the hitting coach at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania previously. His story is an interesting one and you can hear about in a recent interview that he did with our own Elijah Evans here at FutureSox. “There’s a lot of alignment within our hitting department”, said Janish.
Low-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Manager: Jayson Nix
Pitching Coach: Rob Hardy
Hitting Coach: Charlie Romero
Bench Coach: Xavier Fernandez
Trainer: Kira Felise
Performance Coach: Rodain Delus
The White Sox love hiring former big league infielders to manage their Low-A affiliate as Jayson Nix will take over as the skipper in Kannapolis. He succeeds Chad Pinder who will now be managing the Charlotte Knights. Nix played in 118 games for the White Sox back in 2009 and 2010 and he spent the previous five seasons in the Los Angeles Angels’ organization.
Introducing your 2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Coaching Staff!
Some new faces, some returning!
Welcome to K-Town! Opening Day 70 days away! pic.twitter.com/WzUgEiLm8U
— Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (@Kcannonballers) January 22, 2026
Charlie Romero is the veteran hitting coach who returns to Kannapolis once again. Rob Hardy is new to the organization as the pitching coach. He’s also coach at Bloomsburg and he apparently crossed paths with Paul Janish at Rice as well. Xavier Fernandez will serve as the new bench coach.
“A little bit of a unique situation with Jayson,” said Janish. “He and I have known each other for a little while. Actually played with Laynce, his brother, Getz has a good relationship with him. Josh Barfield has a good relationship with him. The type of player that he was I can sympathize with, he earned everything he got as a player. There’s an edge to Jayson that I think is going to benefit our players”.
Arizona Complex League (Rookie Ball)
Manager: Daniel González
Pitching Coach: Anders Dzurak
Hitting Coach: Gerardo Olivares
Bench Coach: Mike Gellinger
Development Coach: Miguel Gonzalez
Trainer: Abby McGurrin
Performance Coach: Max Huberman
The staff in Arizona mostly stays the same overall but the White Sox hired Anders Dzurak away from Minnesota where he spent the past few seasons. Miguel Gonzalez also joins the Arizona Complex League staff as a development coach. Gonzalez was in Chicago as the bullpen catcher previously and Janish noted that he liked what he could provide in his new role.
Dominican Summer League (Rookie Ball)
Manager, Complex Operations: Wellington Morrobel
Manager, Administration: Carolina Santos
Manager: Anthony Núñez
Pitching Coach: JC Sanner
Pitching Coach: Carlos Chavez
Infield Coach: Guillermo Reyes
Hitting Coach: Moisés Núñez
Development Coach: Rigaberto Silverio
Trainer: Gustavo De La Cruz
Assistant Trainer: Neftali Diaz
Performance Coach: Fran Batista
Assistant Performance Coach: Carlos Javier
Video Coordinator: Miguel Pérez
Lead Educator: Pablo Frías
Education Assistant: Rubén Benavides
The White Sox have signed an international class with some high upside pitching and the franchise has hired some new blood in regards to pitching coaches that will assist in the Dominican Republic this season. JC Sanner joined the organization from the College of Central Florida as highlighted nicely by Sox on 35th’s Joe Binder back in October.
“It’s definitely something that we wanted to highlight and be intentional with,” said Janish about the new coaches added to the DSL affiliate.
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